NEW YORK—Six high-profile commercial directors—Bob Giraldi of bicoastal CaseGiraldi; Lenard Dorfman and Robert Leacock of bicoastal/international @radical.media; Jeff Lovinger of Lovinger Mahoney Adelson, New York; Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/ international hungry man; and Samuel Bayer of bicoastal Mars Media—as well as countless members of the commercial production community have donated their time and talent to produce five short films that will be used by NYC2012, New York City’s official Olympic bid committee, in its quest to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics to the Big Apple. (As for why there are six directors and five films, it should be noted that Dorfman and Leacock worked as a team on one of the shorts.)
According to Amy Stanton, director of marketing and communications for NYC2012, the films will be a key part of the organization’s one-hour final presentation—led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg—on Nov. 2 in Colorado Springs, Colo. to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). On that day, the 125-member USOC will choose one candidate city—the race is between New York City and San Francisco—to represent the U.S. in a global competition for the honor of hosting the games. (The ultimate winner will be chosen in 2005.)
As SHOOT went to press, Stanton wasn’t at liberty to give too much away in terms of the conceptual nature of the films. There has been coverage in the New York media—including a piece in The New York Times—on Bayer’s film, which features an Olympic torch run through the city and a ticker tape parade. Suffice it to say, the films—which were being edited at press time—showcase all that New York City has to offer in a variety of creative ways.
TEAM EFFORT
Broad Street Productions, a New York-based business communications firm, developed the initial concepts for the films, as well as the overall presentation being made to the USOC.
So how did the commercial production community get involved in the project? It all started with John Held, the national executive director of the Association of Independent Creative Editors (AICE). When Held heard that New York City was vying to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, he informed Daniel Doctoroff, New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, that the AICE would like to help in any way it could.
As for why he was compelled to make the offer, Held said, "Because it’s a wonderful thing. I feel it for several reasons. If New York gets the Olympics, the amount of money and effort that will go in to build this is enormous and what will be left over after the Olympics—housing for 4,000 people, a rail line connecting Grand Central and Penn Station, a larger [Jacob K.] Javits [Convention] Center, a stadium over on the West Side. The legacy is just unreal."
Doctoroff put Held in touch with Stanton, who invited him this past August to come to see what kind of presentation Broad Street Productions had in mind.
Held immediately saw potential in Broad Street Productions’ idea to produce a series of short films to highlight various points to be made during the overall presentation to the USOC. "When I looked at the presentation, I thought there is only one group that can do this," Held recalled, "and that’s the commercial film industry in New York."
One of the first people Held got in touch with was Matt Miller, president/CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP). "Matt Miller then took the project on and really worked his fanny off to get everybody to do this for free," Held praised.
Like Held, Miller was eager to support New York City’s bid to win the games. He spread the word about the project and rallied the production community to get involved, asking directors who might be interested in helming the films to send in reels. Within a few days, he got at least 30. "I looked at what we got and said politically, and for every other reason, I can’t go through these reels and decide who should do what. That’s not my training," Miller said.
Miller knew the eye of an agency creative was needed, so he called Rick Boyko, co-president/chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather, New York—not just because of his expertise in the field of commercialmaking but also because of his love for New York and philanthropic nature. As you may recall, Boyko spearheaded the publication of Brotherhood, a 240-page coffee-table book of photographs documenting the heroism of the 343 New York City firefighters who died on 9/11. Profits from the book go to two charities: The Twin Towers Fund and the Family Assistance Project of the FDNY Fire Safety Fund.
"Through what he had done with Brotherhood last year, he’s really quite a dedicated New Yorker and someone who is not afraid to roll up his sleeves and get involved in a big project that really is for the benefit of others," Miller said. "You need someone like that."
Boyko signed on and started watching director’s reels. "I wanted to bring in people who could add something," Boyko said. In fact, during an initial meeting with Broad Street Productions, Stanton and Miller, Boyko purposely asked everyone involved if they were okay with directors being able to shape and mold their films as opposed to just blindly following the script provided them. "They said, ‘By all means. We want these to be as good as they can get,’ " Boyko shared.
In addition to selecting the directors for each film, Boyko oversaw the overall creative picture to ensure that there wasn’t any duplication among the pieces in theme or content. Boyko, who downplays his contribution to the project, stressed that the storylines are "originally from Broad Street. All we’ve done is add some meat to them, and each of the directors did that."
Meanwhile, at press time, Boyko was following each of the films through the editing process.
GIVING BACK
Before one foot of film was shot, "the first step was going to the unions and getting full waivers from them," Miller said. "Even with PSAs, members of the crew get pension and welfare contributions, but we needed everything waived, and everyone stepped up to the plate," Miller said. Labor organizations that donated their efforts include the Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild, IATSE Locals 52, 161, 798, 829, 700 and 600 and the Teamsters.
Additionally, the support of equipment suppliers was vital. "We sent out a letter to all our associate members, everyone involved in the infrastructure, the whole supply industry, and said, ‘Look, these are the five companies that are working on this, and this is what they’re doing. They need everything for free—not at a discount. It’s all going to happen at once. This is a time where you’ve got to give back to the companies that support you, but this is a bigger vision. This is about the city. This is about bringing in an economic infusion of money. This is about so many different things, and it’s time to step up to a higher calling.’ And they all did it," Miller said.
Kodak donated all of the film. Major contributors of equipment included Panavision, Camera Service Center, Feature Systems and Silvertrucks Lighting.
Miller is amazed at the level of participation. "I don’t know of anything that has ever existed like this, with this much cooperation," he said. If NYC2012 had to pay for the entire production, Miller estimated it would have cost the organization somewhere between $10 and $15 million.
All five films were shot on location in New York City in late September and early October, with the average shoot running three days. The filmmakers were given incredible access to the city. Stanton noted that the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting—headed by commissioner Katherine Oliver, who assumed the job over the summer—was instrumental in paving the way. "She quickly rallied her whole office behind the effort," Stanton related. "Everybody knew this was operating on a very quick timetable, and there wasn’t time for the typical process of getting permits or whatever else. The police department was also very helpful."
While this project was a massive undertaking, Stanton said it has been a pleasure to work on. "This whole project has felt almost dreamy to me. I used to work in advertising actually," said Stanton, who left a post as account director at Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), New York, to join NYC2012 last spring. "It’s like against all odds really. You can’t believe that a project like this is possible, and people across the board have just been as supportive as they possibly could be."
Additional credit goes to the editors who cut the films. They are: Paul Kelly of 89 Editorial, New York; Adam Liebowitz and David Bradley of Go Robot!, New York; Frank Snider of Ohio Edit, New York; Sherri Margulies of Crew Cuts, New York; and Michael Heldman of Spot Welders, Venice, Calif.
It is impossible to list every industry supporter—as SHOOT went to press, the spots were still being worked on, and it is possible that more companies may donate services—but New York-based shops Howard Schwartz Recording, Sound Lounge and Nice Shoes were among the many other major contributors to the effort.
PSA CAMPAIGN
Stanton has certainly been getting to know New York’s commercial production community. In a separate project, NYC2012 recently launched a PSA campaign. Created by Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners (KBP), New York, and directed by Gregg Hale of bicoastsal Chelsea Pictures, four :30 PSAs depict Olympians performing in quintessential New York settings. For example, one of the spots shows two fencers dueling over a cab outside Rockefeller Center. All of the PSAs end with the tagline: "The Olympics in New York. We’ve been training for this forever."
The idea behind the PSAs—which begin airing this week on local New York City stations-is to drive awareness of and enthusiasm for New York City’s bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Editorial services for the PSA project were donated by New York companies Final Cut, The Tapehouse and Rhinoceros. Abel Cine Tech, New York, and Panasonic donated equipment for the shoot.
